Pieces of the Puzzle
by PsychoLeopard
Summary: Perspectives on Harry Potter. Reflective. Angst. Humor. I may add more.
1. Ron

_AN: Finally opted to post some HP stuff that's been on my hard drive for awhile. This one may be a series of perspectives on Harry, or I may leave it like this. I have two more already written, but…we'll see._

_Warnings: implied abuse, angst_

_Disclaimer: Alas, I thought up Harry Potter, but then JKR stole it from my brain. Honestly, it's not mine and I'm making nothing off this._

**Pieces of the Puzzle**: Ron Weasley

Ron may not be very observant, and have the 'emotional range of a teaspoon,' according to Hermione, but he isn't _blind_.

He's Harry Potter's best friend.

And while there is a lot of status that comes with that post, and a lot of shadow that Ron isn't always thrilled about standing in, there's also a lot of baggage.

Sure, there's the yearly near-death-experiences, and the drama with the press, and fights with Malfoy. But that's not the hardest part. Ron is a Gryffindor, after all, and fights for one's life are expected.

It's the emotional stuff that Ron has the hardest time with. Because he _knows_ he's not very good at it. And he _knows_ Harry needs help, and it's his job to help. Hermione does it better—usually—but as the best friend, he has to do something too. It's his job to notice.

He is aware of the difference in their clothing. All Harry's uniforms are standard issue, neat as any boy's ever can be, cared for, and fit properly. The rest…the sweatshirts, the trousers, the socks, Merlin, the _undergarments_…all are far too big, full of holes, not suitable for a dog to sleep on. Ron wears second-hand robes, but he can tell the difference.

He remembers the look of utter joy on Harry's face when he pulled that first Weasley sweater over his head. Something made just for him, in his size. Ron knows Harry always opens that present first, every year.

He also recalls the momentary surprise and confusion on Harry's face when he realized he had presents. When Ron figured out what that implied, he felt sick.

Harry doesn't talk about his home life much. It's usually half-hearted, offhand comments when the conversation requires it. Ron doesn't ask, but he thinks that if he did, Harry would pretend to misunderstand, or not to have heard. Or he would lie, and Ron doesn't want to give Harry a reason to lie to him.

He knows, though. He remembers the bars on the window and the catflap on the door. He sees how tired and thin his friend looks every summer when he comes back from Privet Drive. He listens in agony as Harry whimpers the word "Uncle" in his sleep, and when he apologizes for waking them when he screams.

He remembers the panic the first time Molly hugged Harry, and the look of stunned gratitude afterwards.

Ron is not always a good friend. He gets jealous, and angry, and flies off the handle at the slightest provocation. But Harry has never, ever given up on him, and deep down, Ron knows Harry never will. In his wiser moments, when he is levelheaded enough to reflect, he realizes that Harry will do anything to keep their friendship. He will put in any effort, make any compromise.

Because Ron is not only Harry's _best_ friend. He is his _first_ friend.

It is a sad, heart-wrenching thing to acknowledge. Ten years without a friend. Ten years without a kind word. Ten years without a Christmas present. Ten years without a birthday party. Ten years without new clothes. Ten years without enough food. Ten years without someone to hold him after a nightmare. Ten years without a bedtime story. Ten years without praise.

Ten years without love.

It makes Ron angry. Angry beyond shouting and seeing red. Angry enough to go cool and cold. Angry enough to think about chess and creative uses for simple hexes. He tries not to think about it too much, but he can't help it when something reminds him. It occurs to him that if he ever breaks down and does what he wants to the Dursleys, he had better invite Fred and George, and Hermione, and Remus and Ginny and many others along. But Ron wants the first shot, because it's his right as the best friend.

Until then, he'll just have to do his best to _be_ there, to be a friend. It's all he can do.


	2. Gred and Forge

_AN: Yeah, finally finished this bit. Not sure if the ending is too corny (it was worse before, if you can believe it) but I figure I'll leave it like this. Feedback is always welcome._

_Warnings: language, general craziness, enough text formatting to make your eyes cross._

_Disclaimer: The only things I have a license for are my car, my cat, and teaching. So unless one of those things owns HP, it's not mine. I'm just playing in JKR's world._

**

* * *

Pieces of the Puzzle**: The Twins

_At first, we merely suspected…_

…**but then that suspicion grew to a theory…**

…_and now we're absolutely certain that our dear benefactor is…_

…**completely barmy…**

_off his rocker…_

…**utterly insensible! Who gives that much **_money to a pair of trouble makers, anyhow?_

**Don't get us wrong! We're very **_grateful, indeed we are. That money_ **started us on the way to our **_beautiful dream! But really…_

"Hey Gred, Forge, have you considered the merits of chewing gum?"

"We will now!"

…**he's always been…**_different, I think you mean to say, my dear Gred. _**Quite so, Forge. We first met him **_in our Third Year, getting on the _**Hogwarts Express. We helped **_him with his trunk and realized he was _**Harry Potter and the bloke says **_**'Oh, him!'**_ _He didn't even believe he was _**famous, really.**

**So we got to **_know him a bit. He stayed _**at school for Christmas, and so**_ did we. We dominated him and _**Ronniekins in a snowball fight! That was **_fun. Good times. And at the _**end of the year, we **_sent him a toilet seat_**. Thought he'd appreciate it but **_we're not sure he ever got it._

"What about localized glamour charms, you two? Like fake tattoos or something, could freak out parents and teachers by the scores. What do you think?"

"Love it!"

"We'll get right on that!"

**Anyway, that summer, **_Ronniekins was fretting about _**not getting any replies to his letters so **_we took the—_**borrowed****—**_right, __borrowed__ Dad's modified Ford Anglia and _**paid a visit to Privet Drive. We weren't **_really expecting what we found, _**though. Bars on the window, **_cat flap in the door, _**enough locks to confine a criminal, **_his owl in a locked cage, _**and no access to his wand or anything. **_So, naturally, we abducted—_**er, ****rescued**** him.**

_Then he became just like _**another member of the family! Ripe for **_pranking, teasing, blackmail…_**exactly! He stayed with us until school started**_ but he was disappointingly well behaved. Until! _**He and Ronniekins had some trouble with the barrier at King's Cross, so they **_stole Dad's car and flew it _**without invisibility, mind you**_ all the way to school, where they crashed into _**the Whomping Willow! Mum was **_in a right snit, sent a _**Howler and everything. **_That was a bit of a tense year, _**actually, though Harry did **_save Ginny at the end._

"Care to explain why there've been several deposits to my Gringotts account from WWW, boys?"

"Well certainly, Harrikins."

"You're listed as a full…"

"…partner in the business, so you get a…"

"…cut of the profits!"

"That really isn't necessary."

"Nonsense! Where would we be without…"

"…all your brilliant ideas?"

"Right. I've got to meet Hermione. We'll discuss this later."

**Barmy.**

_Quite right. Where were we? Ah yes, fifth year._

**We were a bit worried when he went missing from his relatives, **_though we couldn't blame him really. _**But it turned out alright **_in the end. And that was the year we _**gifted him with our prize possession: **_**The Marauders' Map! **_**Of course, by that time **_we hardly needed it. _**As we told him at the time, his need **_was greater than ours. And like a good _**adopted Weasley, he got plenty of use from it. **_We later learned that it was _**only fitting to give it to him, **_son of a Marauder and _**Godson that he was.**

_We got to meet _**his family**_**—**__if you can call them that—_**quite right, Forge, that summer. We wheedled **_Dad into taking us along to_** pick him up for the **_**Quidditch Cup**__. We had some experimental candies along which we _**accidentally**_ dropped, and that _**fat pig ate them without**_ even asking. It's not like we _**knew he would be so **_rude and __**stupid**__. Anyway, Dad was right put out with_** us, but it was worth putting one **_over on the bully. And for the _**data about our products, **_**of course!**_

_So Harry was with us _**at the Cup, and the **_scary stuff after. We weren't_** too worried about him, 'cause that kid can **_take care of himself, but boy were we _**surprised when**** we heard he'd been **_accused of setting the __**Dark Mark!**_** As if ****Harry**** of all people would **_do that._

_He found out about a small _**matter we had with Mr. Bagman—**_not that we were being all that sneaky, rightly—_**and never said a word. This was **_during that Tournament, so he had a _**bit on his mind, like **_dragons trying to eat him, or _**rescuing our baby brother from the mermaids, or **_asking girls to the ball—_**he was not at all smooth about that, **_poor boy—_**or fighting through monster-infested mazes, and then **_facing the Dark Wanker to top it all. _**The point is, after all of that**_ and winning the prize money_** what does he do but hand the gold **_over to us and commission us _**to do what we were planning on **_anyway!_

**Like we said, **_**barmy**_**.**

_But honestly, we don't know _**where we'd be **_without him__**. **__That's why he's _**a full partner, though he'd **_never ask for it._

**He's just **_special_, **you know?**


	3. Colin

_AN: Was going to make this longer, but I rather like it as a snapshot. Enjoy!_

_Warnings: Present tense? Nothing else, really._

_Disclaimer: I do not even own a working camera, how could I possibly own a bestselling series of books and movies? _

**

* * *

Pieces of the Puzzle: ** Colin Creevey

There is something Colin knows about Harry Potter that no one else does, and that is that Harry is never still. He is always moving, always in action, because he is not a man of thought but action.

He had a lot of blurred photos, muggle and magical, before he learned to compensate for the movement. There were the obvious ones: Harry on a broom, Harry running across the grounds, Harry bolting down the stairs. Harry, Colin has noticed, likes to move fast. He never ambles, saunters, glides; he only hurries. As if he knows there isn't enough time to get it all done. As if speed is a release, a freedom, that he can't get while sitting with friends or playing Exploding Snap.

Colin loves to take shots of Harry flying, because that is when his face holds the most animation, the most joy. His eyes and smile and even his skin light up as if the sun is shining at just the right angle, all the time, even on cloudy days. The grace as his hands grip the broomstick and he leans forward just that little bit to put on that extra burst, or as he executes that little dip after a Wronski Feint…it is a photographer's ideal. Harry-on-a-broom is always novel, always interesting, never posed. Sometimes, as he's watching a picture develop, Colin almost expects Harry to fly right out of the frame, as if nothing can hold him back.

Even shots that seem safely inert showed some imperfection on later study. A tapping foot as he stood outside the Charms classroom. A turning head, distracted by a Slytherin walking past. Fingers moving along the shaft of a wand or quill like fluttering birds not sure it's safe to land. And of course, that hand raking through his hair, in agitation or apprehension.

Finally, Colin decides this is because Harry is truly the Boy Who _Lived_. He is so full of energy, of magic, of emotion, of life, that he cannot be still. Stillness is lack of change, is death, and Harry doesn't know how to die, even a little bit. He is too busy learning and growing and fighting to even pause to consider his mortality.


End file.
